Hidan's Punishment
by Akama
Summary: Kakuzu is displeased when Hidan interferes with his work, sending him into a fit of rage resulting in destruction and ultimately, Hidan's torture as he is taught a lesson at Kakuzu's hands. Rated M for use of language and torture imagery/description.


_I own nothing... All hail Mashashi Kishimoto..._

'Hidaaaaaan!' a blood-curdling scream echoed around the base, it reverberated its way through the halls and into the rooms.

Deidara and Tobi were sat in the communal area, both sat cross-legged playing a card game – they looked up and scanned around the room before fixing their gaze towards the doorway and the sound of approaching footsteps; heavy footsteps, marching closer.

Kakuzu burst into the room with a growl that made the floorboards resonate; 'Where is Hidan!' he demanded of the two staring up at him from where they sat.

Tobi averted his gaze, and Deidara could only muster a 'Ummmm...' noise before Kakuzu had taken his rage elsewhere, slamming the door shut so hard the wood splintered around the hinge slightly.

'Hidan is bad!' Tobi uttered, Deidara nodded and said, 'Good job he's immortal, huh. Kakuzu's pissed!' and they went back to their game.

Kakuzu was mad. The kind of mad that usually resulted in somebody's death.

Thankfully for everybody else's sake – the one Kakuzu wanted to kill today was Hidan. Come to think of it - it was always Hidan. Several of Kakuzu's previous partners had lost their lives at his enraged hands, and then Hidan came along... unable to die, he was the perfect partner for Kakuzu and could survive his violent meltdowns – this served a dual purpose, it prevented the bother of having to source a new partner for Kakuzu and it allowed him to vent his anger and focus his murderous rage towards Hidan rather than anybody else in the near vicinity.

Kakuzu rampaged through the base, searching for Hidan. He swiftly checked the kitchen, the mess hall, the only people in the communal room were those two weirdos Deidara and Tobi.

Sasori was speaking with Konan about some poison or something outside Lord Pain's apartment entrance – so he knew Hidan wouldn't be in there. They watched him stalk past angrily with their eyes fixed on him, sensing his murderous intent.

He threw open the bedroom door to the room he shared with Hidan – empty.

Next was Deidara and Sasori's room – empty.

Tobi's room – empty, aside from the junk scattered about all over the place anyway.

Zetsu's room was empty too.

Kakuzu paused outside of Kisame and Itachi's room – he burst in and startled Kisame out of his slumber, he looked over his shoulder towards the figure in the doorway; 'What do you want?'

'Hidan' Kakuzu simply growled.

'Well, he isn't in here. What's he done this time?' the sleepy Kisame asked before yawning loudly and pulling the sheet up over his head to block what little light had filtered past the towering Kakuzu in the doorway.

Kakuzu left, slamming the door shut behind him, sending the room back into pitch black darkness, 'Whatever...' Kisame muttered as he tried to get back to sleep.

Kakuzu went to the basement, checked the various rooms, as well as the one that he knew Hidan favoured for his rituals. Nothing.

His blood boiling he ascended the stairs and closed the heavy door back over to the basement.

He heard Tobi's voice from the other end of the corridor, it was faint, but he could still hear him; 'Kakuzu is mad at you! You're in trouble!' he sang.

He started walking towards the communal area, slowly, straining to hear what was being said.

'Fuck do I care?' Hidan's voice spat, 'Kakuzu can go fuck himself!'

'He broke the door he slammed it so forcefully when he came by earlier looking for you' Deidara said, 'See! He'll make you pay for that because he broke it looking for you!'

'I don't give a fuck!' Hidan sneered.

Kakuzu picked up the pace, quickening his step, before breaking out into a full sprint.

He flew past Sasori and Konan, sending the handful of paper that Sasori was clutching into a flutter as he passed by; they retreated inside Pain's apartment and closed the door over, not wanting to get involved with Kakuzu's wrath.

Hidan was swigging milk from the carton when the door exploded inwards, taking the frame and some of the surrounding brickwork with it, sending Deidara and Tobi scrabbling across the floor and ducking for cover behind the now capsized couch.

Hidan looked across, wide-eyed at the eruption, allowing some milk to stream down his chin before he swallowed the mouthful he already had.

Kakuzu emerged from the splintered wood and stonework, masonry dust and flecks of mortar speckled his dark clothing.

'Fuck!' Hidan uttered.

Kakuzu's eyes were filled with rage, and nothing but a low rumbling growl escaped his lips.

Hidan dropped the carton of milk, it splashed up the side of the counter as it hit the floor, he jumped over the table and tried to flee. Deidara stuck his head up from behind the wreckage of the door where it rested against the upturned couch, his mouth hanging open in awe of the destruction. Hidan dodged Kakuzu who tried to grab him, and laughed out, mocking the failed attempt by raising his middle finger and gesturing towards Kakuzu who was storming in his direction once again.

Kakuzu had caught up with Hidan, the two men grasped at one another, each trying to get the upper hand. Kakuzu tripped and threw Hidan to the ground and the two of them grappled, each landing the odd strike on one another as they did so.

Kakuzu ended up straddling Hidan and punching him in the face, 'Ow! Fucking shit that hurts you ass!' he spat. Kakuzu couldn't care less, and grabbed the younger man by the throat and stood up, lifting him up with him. Hidan gurgled, both his hands clasped around Kakuzu's which was clamped around his neck, in an attempt to pry it off.

Hidan kicked out, and managed to catch Kakuzu in the gut – forcing him to release his grip and sending him reeling backwards a few feet.

'Moron!' Hidan yelled clutching his bloodied nose, and took advantage of the small gap he had created to make his escape from his angered partner.

Hidan just about made it out the door with a smirk, when he was snared by Kakuzu's strings, 'Fuck!' he yelled as the strings encircled him and dragged him to the floor with a thud.

'Let me fucking go!' he demanded, Kakuzu approached slowly, relishing finally catching his partner who was now struggling in his crushing grip.

'Shut up' Kakuzu said menacingly.

Hidan of course, ignored him by yelling another string of profanity at his partner; 'Fuck you! Fucking let me up you fucking miserable old fucker!' and with that, Kakuzu kicked Hidan in the stomach.

Hidan yelled out a strained 'Fuuuuuuck!' and coughed struggling to catch his breath from being winded by the kick.

Kakuzu hauled him to his feet and punched Hidan square in the face, making him spit blood and curse beneath his breath.

Kakuzu released all but the strings that were binding Hidan's arms behind his back and pointed towards the broken doorway, 'Move!' he hissed, his eyes fixed firmly on Hidan, gleaming with a combined look of rage and satisfaction.

Hidan turned to face the doorway, but didn't move, 'Fucking make me!' he dared.

Kakuzu reached out with his right arm and gripped the back of Hidan's neck firmly, 'Move!' he repeated, giving him a nudge as he did, and Hidan reluctantly allowed himself to be marched from the room, airing his objection with a 'hmmf' and a smirk across his face as he was shoved forwards.

Tobi popped his head up from behind the overturned couch and glanced at Deidara, 'Tobi shall never make Kakuzu-sempai mad!' he said and Deidara nodded in silent agreement.

Kakuzu marched Hidan along the corridor, towards an annoyed looking Kisame, who had clearly been disturbed from his sleep by the destruction and the shouting, and was leaning against the wall opposite his room, hands behind his head in a stretch.

'Where're you taking him?' he questioned Kakuzu, who briefly stopped and shoved Hidan against the wall to respond to Kisame, Hidan grunted from being forcefully thrown against the wall, the hand that gripped the back of his neck forcing his face against the cold stonework.

'Basement' Kakuzu stated.

Kisame smiled his toothy smile, 'Give me a shout if you get bored of beating him, I wouldn't mind trying to knock some sense into him too...' he leaned down over the captive man who was pinned against the wall at his side and sneered at him before disappearing back into the darkness of his room and closing the door over.

Kakuzu pulled Hidan away from the wall roughly and continued to manhandle him along the corridor. They reached the basement door, Hidan began to struggle, 'Like fuck I'm letting you put me down there fuck head!' he yelled, throwing his weight around.

Kakuzu spun him around and picked Hidan up by the throat, lifting him so that they were eye-to-eye. Hidan gurgled as he struggled to breathe, his feet dangled above the ground, about level with Kakuzu's knees; 'I'll do whatever I please with you' Kakuzu whispered.

Hidan cringed when Kakuzu whispered, and Kakuzu could see it in his reddening face, the uncertainty, the not-so-well-hidden fear, and at the same time, he could see the defiance in Hidan's eyes.

He lowered the choking Hidan back onto his feet, who spluttered and coughed, sending a few specks of blood airborne from his split-lip.

Kakuzu pulled open the heavy basement door and gestured silently that Hidan should enter.

Hidan grunted a moody 'hmph' before Kakuzu lost his patience and shoved him roughly in front of him and pushed down heavily on the back of his neck with one hand and pulled his bound wrists up his back sharply with the other - causing Hidan to yelp in either surprise or pain, either way it was preventing further struggling from his strong-willed partner as he led him down the snaking staircase into the basement.

Kakuzu paused beside a detention cell, deep in thought.

Would he force Hidan into chakra restraints and merely leave him locked up for a while before coming back and punishing him? Or would he get straight to the punishment and attempt to teach his disrespectful young partner a lesson or two?

His thoughts were interrupted with a high-volume outburst from Hidan, 'Hey! Hey! What the fuck are you thinking up in that twisted fucking head of yours huh? I can't fucking stand here all day waiting for your ancient brain to start working you old fucker! Hurry the fuck up and get this over with, c'mon the cells are right there – throw me in! You know you want to!'

Kakuzu made his decision. He would much prefer to string Hidan up and beat him until he exhausted himself from the exertion.

Maybe he would even take Kisame up on his offer and allow him the privilege of venting some of his pent up frustrations on the boy.

He chucked in a low growl to himself as he smacked Hidan across the back of the head for his outburst causing him to whine 'Aah! Fuck you do that for!'.

'Shut up' Kakuzu warned, lifting the now struggling Hidan up and over his shoulder effortlessly.

Kakuzu carried the writing body into the deepest, dankest part of the basement.

This part of the basement stunk of death, the scent of dried blood hung in the air, Kakuzu's footsteps were now accompanied by shallow splashing of water – the floor was slicked in it from being used to rinse away the bloodshed after an interrogation.

They entered the last room at the end of the corridor.

The air was damp, sweat and fear hung in the stale air alongside the aroma of death.

'Aww, not this again Kakuzu!' Hidan whined from where he hung over the taller man's shoulder.

'Didn't I tell you to shut up?' Kakuzu chided and dumped Hidan's body down on the ground at his feet. Hidan groaned, he whined about his trousers getting wet from the floor more than he did about being dropped onto it.

Kakuzu stared at him for a moment, 'You really are an obnoxious brat' he said before closing over the door, sealing them inside.

It closed with a bang. Hidan looked up to his angered partner and wriggled himself into a seated position, his legs outstretched in front of him. Kakuzu shoved him over again as he passed, Hidan kicked his legs out in an attempt to prevent himself from being tipped completely over – but to no avail, he toppled onto his back and swore.

He watched Kakuzu prepare the room for his upcoming punishment; he cleared the table, laying out leather straps to hold down his victim if required, arranged an assortment of implements on a steel tray nearby, he checked the wall where he would likely chain him up, inspecting the equipment.

Hidan blurted out insults in an attempt to rile his already angered partner, 'Hey, whatever makes you feel better you old bastard' he called out, Kakuzu glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes burning in hatred of the younger man's insolence.

Kakuzu stalked over to where Hidan sat, towering over him, and roughly yanked him to his feet by his hair, tearing his shirt from his back and discarding it before switching to his preferred grip by grasping the back of his neck, he pushed and pulled Hidan's resisting form over to the wall and slammed him against it, winding him.

More threads swarmed over Hidan holding him still, allowing Kakuzu to release his grip on the youngsters neck to secure his limbs.

He secured his arms above his head, fastening each wrist into a steel cuff that was bolted deep into the wall, next, he kicked Hidan's legs apart violently causing his body to sink lower and the wrist restraints to dig into his skin. Hidan laughed wryly and hissed a 'Damn' beneath his breath.

Kakuzu secured his ankles with the same heavy steel shackles.

Hidan was now spread-eagled, facing the wall. Unable to move very far, but still able to swear loudly; 'Fucks sake! How many fucking times do you have to screw me over like this?' he yelled whilst straining at his shackles.

Kakuzu withdrew his threads and scrutinised his struggling form, he saw a trickle of blood winding its way down Hidan's right forearm from the steel cutting into his wrist.

Kakuzu spoke in a low tone, 'As many times as it takes for you to learn, stupid brat!'

'Hey! Don't you fucking call me stupid!' Hidan yelled out, straining to turn his head far enough around to see the target of his verbal abuse.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed, 'I can call you whatever I feel like calling you. Or have you forgotten already? I own you! You upset Lord Pain and caused a major setback to his plans, he knew he couldn't kill you, and that you do occasionally come in useful... so he handed you over to me as a punishment, and you've still not earned your release from my grasp, and you never will, boy!' Kakuzu rumbled in his distinctive gritty voice.

He cast his robe aside and slipped a blade from his pocket and moved closer to Hidan, standing directly behind him with the point of the blade pressing lightly into his lower back, 'You're mine' he hissed, tracing the point along his spine sending an involuntary shudder through Hidan's body from the cold steel scratching at his flesh, Kakuzu grabbed at Hidan's head and wrenched it backwards roughly, holding the blade to his throat tightly enough for a trickle of blood to seep from the razors edge.

Hidan hissed at the stinging sensation, looking upside down from his head being yanked backwards into Kakuzu's emotionless face.

'You may be immortal, but you can still feel pain' Kakuzu whispered, making Hidan cringe again, as he lightly traced the blade away from his throat and around his neck before freeing his grip on his head. He continued to scratch the blade across his shoulders, back and forth tracing the muscles, leaving red scratches in his wake, and without warning plunged it deeply into Hidan's right shoulder blade. Hidan screamed out loudly and jerked his head forwards in pain, banging his head hard against the wall as he did so with a sickening crack.

A thick ooze of blood pulsed from the wound, seeping out of his flesh around the steel instrument that had pierced it, slowly creeping its way down his back.

Hidan cursed, 'Shit!' and laughed darkly, before stating bluntly, 'I like pain'.

'That's true, but I'm sure even you have a limit...' Kakuzu replied dryly, squeezing the flesh surrounding the cold instrument and forcing more blood to spill from the wound, '...shall we find out?'

Kakuzu left the blade protruding from the wound, and untied the knot that secured Hidan's bandanna with his forehead protector on it around his neck. He threw it aside, seeing what he wanted to see in its place – a worn looking collar, tatty around the edges.

'You are no longer allowed to hide this beneath your bandanna' Kakuzu announced, tugging at the collar for emphasis, 'Understand?'.

Hidan gave no response, Kakuzu gripped the handle of the blade that was still sticking out of his shoulder and twisted, digging the blade deeper into the muscle.

Hidan screamed as the flesh was torn some more and fresh blood poured from the wound, his body tensed against his restraints, his breathing becoming deep and deliberate, 'I asked you a question' Kakuzu growled.

'Ugh! Fuck! Fine!' Hidan yelled, 'It's just some dumb fucking collar you stuck on me anyway, what the fuck do I care !' Kakuzu laughed in derision at his naïve young partner, 'I think you do care' he laughed, 'You wrap your bandanna around your neck to hide it. This tells me that you don't want the others to see the collar that symbolises my ownership of you. I think it embarrasses and humiliates you' he wrapped his fist around the collar and tugged sharply on it, choking Hidan slightly, 'Which is why I don't want it hidden any more'.

He pulled a little harder on the collar, 'Understand?' he questioned.

Hidan thought to himself that he could learn to live with that, and if anybody made fun of him, he would kick their ass for it anyway, it doesn't change anything, he decided to go along with Kakuzu in an attempt to placate him and tried to speak but couldn't from being choked, all that came out was a rasping sound. Kakuzu loosened his grip to let him speak.

'Yes' Hidan spluttered, gasping for air.

'Yes what?' Kakuzu chuckled grimly, wiggling the blade that was lodged in Hidan's shoulder from side to side gently, 'Yes. Yes I understand!' Hidan said with some urgency to his voice.

'Good' Kakuzu said in a clipped tone, and released his grip on the collar, and landed a heavy open-handed smack on Hidan's left side at the same instant before he quietly moved away.

Hidan rested his forehead against the wall, it felt greasy, almost slick. It was damp, like everything else down here in this dingy basement.

He started to feel the familiar prickly sensation warm his skin from the somewhat playful slap Kakuzu had just given him. Hidan knew it was far from over though, if the blade that was lodged in his shoulder was anything to go by anyway. The pain had turned into a dull ache, but he knew that the real pain hadn't even started yet.

Kakuzu stared down at the implements in front of him, they each had their merits he thought, but where would he begin... he picked up another small blade, much like a scalpel and ran his fingers over the cold steel carefully examining and scrutinising every millimetre of it.

He was lost in his own thoughts, deep in the recesses of his imagination, visualising what he would eventually inflict upon Hidan. He placed down the small blade with a metallic clink onto the table, instead, picking up a roll of leather, tugging at the catch and unfurling it to reveal a carefully wrapped set of needles.

He had decided he would start there, a slow and painful way to begin he mused.

He stilled himself, closing his eyes and listening intently to the sounds within the room; he could hear Hidan breathing – at least for once he wasn't shouting or swearing, he could hear the faint dripping of water from somewhere, the air was still and hung heavily around him, clinging to him almost.

He could hear his own hearts pound within him. He was ready to begin.

He opened his eyes, sucking a breath of the acrid air deep into his lungs, and moved closer to Hidan. He stood observing his young partner, his head was hung forwards, beyond just resting his forehead against the wall, he had the crown of his head resting against it. Kakuzu smirked beneath his mask, wondering if this was a play to get him to go easy on him by appearing submissive or weakened? Or perhaps he was preparing himself for what was coming next.

'Either way' Kakuzu thought and slipped a needle from its leather sheath, he held it like a dart, between the edge of his forefinger and thumb.

His eyes flicked back and forth across the bare flesh of Hidan's back, searching for his first target.

Hidan shifted slightly, almost in anticipation of Kakuzu's next move, the chains emitted a dull clatter, they were old and speckled with pock marks of rust.

They could really do with replacing, but that would cost money... besides, Kakuzu couldn't remember the last time anybody except Hidan had been brought down here, that managed to stay alive long enough to necessitate the chains anyway.

He decided on his first target – Hidan's neck, that ought to make him straighten up and pay attention Kakuzu mused. He moved closer, silently raising the needle to match the height of Hidan's neck.

He had it pinched between his thumb and forefinger, and jabbed it home, deep into the muscle that ran the length of Hidan's neck, sending shooting pain right up into his head.

True to Kakuzu's prediction, Hidan raised his head, but remained silent, save for a sharp intake of breath through gritted teeth. Kakuzu drew another needle from the sheath, deciding that a more painful insertion would be necessary to drag a pained cry from Hidan.

He tossed the needle into the air, catching it deftly between his thumb and forefinger again, he allowed his left hand to rest on Hidan's shoulder, bringing his right hand closer until the needle made contact with the skin at the top of the spine, a little to the right, hovering above the bundle of nerves that Kakuzu knew lay buried about an inch below the surface, he pressed it in slowly this time, feeling it snag on the sinewy muscle as it pierced the flesh.

He pierced through the sensitive bundle of nerves, sending waves of pain through Hidan like lightning. 'Gaaaah!' rasped Hidan, sucking in breath to help ease the pain into his system.

Kakuzu smiled, he liked that response, and drew another needle.

He pressed it into Hidan's lower back, near his left kidney, which also granted him a pleasing response, even though he sensed that Hidan was trying his best to hold back and not give Kakuzu the satisfaction.

'17 left...' Kakuzu spoke up, breaking the strained atmosphere in the room.

Hidan rumbled a growl, 'Go for it! Fuckwit!' he goaded.

Kakuzu obliged and drew three needles from the sheath at once, holding two in his right hand and one in his left – he sunk the two in his right hand into Hidan's floating ribs, feeling one scratch against the bone as it sunk through the intercostal muscles that supported his rib-cage.

Hidan let out a scream, which made Kakuzu relish his pain even more.

The needle he held in his left hand was plunged into Hidan's as-yet neglected left shoulder – almost matching the position of the blade that was still sticking out of the right side.

He drew another two, completely impaling Hidan's right forearm twice, and did the same on his left.

He had ten left, he inserted five across the left shoulder to the neck and mirrored the pattern on the right, leaving Hidan looking like he had come sort of crest running across his shoulders.

The pain had started to burn into Hidan's psyche now, rising like a fire.

Kakuzu retrieved the blade he was holding earlier, and returned to Hidan with it, tapping the cutting edge against the similar blade that was protruding from Hidan's shoulder.

It evoked a response all right – Hidan was furious, immediately swearing and spitting blood as he yanked and pulled at the shackles holding him; 'I swear to Jashin that I will fucking annihilate you when I get free from here! I fucking swear! I will slice you into fucking pieces and scatter you to the four corners of the fucking planet so you'll never be able to stitch yourself back together again you fucking bastard!'

'Hmm' Kakuzu pondered at the unexpected violent outburst, 'Slice me into pieces, hm?' he pondered the threat and decided he could work with that, bringing the blade down onto Hidan's upper arm and slicing around it, blood flowed freely down Hidan's torso, mingling with his sweat, soaking into his trousers. He sliced the same pattern into Hidan's left upper arm, adding an additional incision encircling his arm around the bicep.

'Rrrrrrgh!' Hidan stifled his pain, emitting it only in grunts and involuntary movements.

Kakuzu continued to slice into Hidan until he grew bored and decided it was time to move on.

He left the dingy basement room momentarily to retrieve a bucket of water, which he promptly threw over Hidan rinsing the blood and sweat away. Kakuzu noted that Hidan hadn't uttered a thing as the icy water was thrown over him, he hadn't even flinched. He threw the bucket aside, it clattered to the floor and rolled to a stop somewhere in the darkness.

Kakuzu's mind was wandering to his neglected work, he had business to attend to upstairs, paperwork that had already been done, but yet had to be re-done thanks to his idiot partner, he would be awake half the night finishing it at this rate.

Although, he _was_ enjoying doling out punishment and watching Hidan pretend that he was enjoying this – Kakuzu knew his young partner all too well, he knew that Hidan only truly relished in pain when it was part of a ritual and he could share in the 'ecstasy of death' as he put it.

He was getting no enjoyment from being tortured in this manner, he could deny it, bitch about it and whine all he wanted, but Kakuzu knew he was merely acting tough, and that he was in a great deal of discomfort and unwanted pain.

'Stupid little brat' Kakuzu thought, as he reached for the strap, deciding it was time to draw the proceedings to a close for the evening, after all he had to get back to his own responsibilities, and as much as babysitting Hidan was one of them, paperwork was more important he decided.

He pulled his mask and hood off and lay them down with his discarded cloak.

He picked it up, feeling its weight in his hands, the rough leather worn from use. He ran the length sharply through his hands, letting it create its signature 'ssssshk' noise from the friction of drawing it back.

Hidan stirred, straining his head around again to see what was going on behind him in the shadows.

He knew that sound. He turned his back to face the wall and grimaced where Kakuzu couldn't see.

The strap was thick, about three inches wide, roughly an eighth of an inch thick, and almost 6 feet long. Kakuzu liked to end his lessons with this. He felt it was a good hammer with which to hit home the nail, so to speak. He cracked the strap against the floor, a sharp snap echoed around the room. Hidan gritted his teeth again.

'50' Kakuzu growled.

Hidan piped up immediately, 'Fucking hell Kakuzu! 50! You've got to be shitting me!'

'I expect you to keep tally' Kakuzu said as he drew the strap back through his fist, readying himself for throwing it out again.

Hidan heard the 'ssssshk' and waited with a cold sweat running down his forehead before he felt the first lash hit home, diagonally across his back, disturbing one of the needles that had previously been dug in to the flesh; he screamed out and protested some more, 'Shit Kakuzu, at least take the fucking needles out first you fucking sadist – you'll knock them through me at this rate!'

'You're supposed to be counting...' Kakuzu chided in a monotone, and threw out the strap again.

A pained 'Two' came through gritted teeth. Kakuzu smiled, drawing the strap back again with a crisp 'ssssshk' sound.

'Remember, if you lose count... I'll start over' Kakuzu chucked, snapping his wrist outwards sending the strap whipping through the air and striking his target across the lower back, snapping the tip off the needle that was lodged in Hidan's left kidney, making his victim writhe and cry out, as the remainder of the needle was driven in deeper with the impact.

'Th... three' came a grizzled count through sharp breaths.

Ssssshk...crack! 'Four!'

Ssssshk...crack! 'F...F...Five'

Ssssshk...crack! 'Six...aargh!'

'Just count' Kakuzu yelled, 'I'm not interested in hearing you complain...' he laughed dryly again.

It went on like this for some time, the rhythmic pace set by Kakuzu and his expert use of the strap, the noise of the leather flying through the air punctuated by the sharp sound of flesh being struck. Punctuated by laboured counting, and the occasional yelp of pain, and the odd scream rasped from Hidan's lungs as a needle was struck and sent burrowing deeper, or shattered, leaving the tip buried beneath the skin.

…...'Twenty-seven'

…...'Thirty-two'

…...'Thirty-nine'

…...'Fourty-six'

…...'Fifty'

It was over. Hidan was hanging from the shackles around his wrists, his legs no longer contributing to supporting his body.

Blood was seeping from the puncture marks left by the needles, some where knocked out, some were pushed aside, some were hammered deeper, some were obviously brittle and snapped leaving some still inside the flesh.

The blade that had been sunk into his shoulder had been knocked aside, leaving it hanging at a strange angle, but still impaling a shred of skin.

The strap had left angry red welts across Hidan's back, some were oozing in an attempt to form scabs, others bled, some had begun to swell up, several had left horrific bruises.

His back was a criss-cross of injuries.

Kakuzu was staring at his victim, now hanging limply against the wall.

He lay the strap down, and strode over to Hidan. He reached into his back pocket and retrieved a key for the shackles. He crouched down, removing the ankle restraints first. He stood up and moved close to his partner, who was on the verge of passing out. He pushed his leg against Hidan's, bracing himself to aid in supporting him, figuring he would likely collapse as soon as his wrists were released. He pressed his weight into Hidan, forcing him against the wall slightly as he released his left wrist. His arm dropped like a dead weight, hanging limply at his side.

Kakuzu lifted his lifeless arm up in his left hand and tugged at the two needles that still protruded from his forearm, letting them fall to the floor with a metallic clink. He wrapped Hidan's arm around his shoulder, taking his weight onto himself and reached across to release his right arm. It fell heavily also, smacking against his damaged torso and hanging there. Kakuzu carried Hidan over to the table he had cleared earlier, laying him face down. Hidan murmured but remained still.

'Don't move' Kakuzu spoke in a low rumble.

Hidan lay motionless, exhausted, hurt.

Kakuzu pulled the two needles that stuck out from Hidan's right forearm, he dropped them onto the steel tray from earlier – he picked up a fine-bladed scalpel from the same tray, positioning it over an angry red tear, he pressed it in, slicing the skin and sending a fresh trickle of blood flowing.

Hidan stirred; 'it...its cold...' he said fairly calmly, sounded weakened.

'This isn't part of your punishment' Kakuzu announced, 'I'm patching you up, removing the needles that broke off'. He found what he was looking for, reaching for a set of needle-nose pliers and carefully inserting them into the incision he made to extract the broken-off needle tip. It glinted as he drew it out of the wound, slicked in blood.

He dropped the broken needle remnant onto the steel tray, and went back for another. He had counted five needles that had broken-off, he searched across the reddened and bruised back for another, finding it and repeating the process. Once he had methodically removed all of the shrapnel, he pressed his fingers onto the skin below where the initial blade had been sunk into the shoulder blade. With his other hand, he slowly pulled the blade free from the ragged flesh. Hidan cried out in pain. Kakuzu ignored him, dropping the blade onto the tray, causing a little blood to splash from it. He went about stitching up the deep wounds with his threads, wiping the excess blood away with a cloth, dumping the soiled fabric onto the tray when he was done.

The room looked like some sort of makeshift operating theatre. Hidan was patched up, all of the fragments had been successfully removed, deep wounds had been cleaned out and stitched, and most of the blood had been mopped up. His sliced up arms now resembling that of Kakuzu's with the stitches circling them.

Kakuzu straightened himself up, gazing down at his semi-conscious partner, 'Get up' he ordered.

Hidan didn't move very far, tilting his head to the side and opening his eyes.

'Get up!' Kakuzu barked, Hidan pulled his arms up, propping himself up and shakily bringing his legs around so that he was sat on the edge of the table, his legs dangling over the side.

'Stand up' Kakuzu ordered.

Hidan slid himself carefully off the edge and gently lowered himself onto his bare feet, his legs buckled and he began to fall.

He was caught by Kakuzu, who pulled Hidan's arms up around his shoulders and lifted him onto his back. His right arm grasping Hidan's wrists, holding them to his chest and his left arm behind him, supporting Hidan as he weakly clung to the large man's back.

They exited the room, Kakuzu carrying Hidan through the corridors of the basement on his back and up the staircase, the air grew fresher as they ascended the stairs, they were leaving the stale, damp, blood tinged basement behind.

Kakuzu pushed the door that led back into the base open with his foot, turning once on the other side and pushing it closed again.

He walked the length of the corridor, reaching the communal room, he walked through the damaged doorway and made his way through to the kitchen.

Kisame was sat eating something from a packet, still only clad in what appeared to be his underwear, he glanced up and his toothy grin returned to his face; 'Figure out a way to kill him yet then?' he asked of Kakuzu who was retrieving medical supplies from the cupboard.

'No' Kakuzu replied coldly.

'He looks pretty dead to me...' Kisame snorted a laugh and shoved another handful of whatever it was he was eating into his mouth.

'Sh...shut...the hell...up' came an uncharacteristically quiet outburst from Hidan who was having difficulty breathing let alone speaking. 'Hidan!' Kakuzu spat, cutting him off.

Kisame chuckled to himself; 'I don't know how you cope with him' he said, standing to leave after finishing off his box of food, throwing the box into the trash, 'Oh, nice collar Hidan...' he mocked, leaving the kitchen laughing to himself.

Hidan let out a sigh. It had begun, and he was too weak to kick anybody's ass.

It would have to wait he thought.

Kakuzu had collected the items he needed, and headed towards their room, passing a horrified looking Deidara in the hall as the left the communal area, who couldn't pry his eyes away from Hidan's tortured frame slumped over Kakuzu's back.

Kakuzu lay Hidan down on his stomach, then turned and closed the bedroom door.

He tugged his shirt off over his head, throwing it into a pile in the corner. His stitched chest was stained with blood from earlier. He knelt beside Hidan and set out the medical supplies. He stood up, stretched and then went and filled a bowl with warm water and begun cleaning up Hidan properly, wiping away the dried blood, before applying dressings.

Once he was satisfied that he had applied the sutures and dressings properly he bandaged over the top to hold them in place.

He cleared up, tipping the now pinkish water away, and throwing away the dressing packets, he washed himself up, leaving Hidan on the bed.

Kakuzu dried his hands and patted his torso dry after washing the blood away, he returned to Hidan's side, standing over his partner as he lay quietly, his eyes were open, but he wasn't looking at anything in particular, he was just staring into space.

'I'm going to leave you here. I have work to finish. I expect you to stay put' he said, pulling on a fresh shirt and moving to the door.

'If I discover that you disobeyed me, we'll go for round two...' he threatened and left, closing the door over quietly and leaving Hidan alone with his thoughts.

Hidan's mind wandered, he had never been punished or disciplined before he was recruited into the Akatsuki and partnered up with Kakuzu, not even as a child. He was used to getting his own way, even if it meant making others suffer to get it. He reflected on how he pretty much ran wild, and nobody would dare pull him up for his behaviour... until now.

A smile slowly crept across Hidan's face, his eyes closed over. He was secretly glad that there was somebody like Kakuzu around to keep him under control, it brought a little order to the chaos that was his existence.

He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

He woke up hours later, it was pitch black outside - save for the moon casting jagged shadows through the window and across the room, a smile crept back across his face as he opened his eyes to see Kakuzu sitting cross-legged at the end of his own bed opposite, watching over him in the darkness.

He closed his eyes again, and drifted back off to sleep.

_Apologies for the formatting - this is/was my first upload and I'm still getting the hang of altering settings and s__tuff._

_Any feedback would be welcomed, suggestions/thoughts etc._

_Akama_


End file.
